Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Campaign Strategy Guide
by Steven W. Carter
(scarter831@earthlink.net)
September 12, 1999
Disclaimer: I provide no guarantees here. These are strategies that worked
for me on version 1.08 using the normal difficulty level. I played each
mission at least twice and generally tried to mix up my strategies to see
what worked best. What follows is a summary of that work, with an emphasis
more on how to start up each mission rather than on details on how to destroy
an enemy base once you are able to repulse its attacks (and where preferences
will vary anyway).
*****************************************************************************
* GDI CAMPAIGN *
*****************************************************************************
----------
GDI-01 (Reinforce Phoenix Base)
----------
Objective:
Destroy all NOD forces.
Strategy:
This is a training mission, so you are not going to be pressured at all.
Take the time to familiarize yourself with the interface, the look of the
game, and the waypoints system.
After you receive reinforcements, build a refinery and then a barracks.
There is plenty of room for them in your starting base. If you want to,
also build a tiberium silo. There is only one entrance to your base, and
it is guarded by two vulcans. Those will be more than enough for defense.
The only thing left to build is some light infantry, so go ahead and do
so. The NOD ``base'' is located in the northeastern corner of the map.
It only has a hand of NOD and a power plant, and your starting units can
destroy them and their defenders pretty easily. There is also another
bridge south of that, but when you encounter it, meteors will destroy
it and prevent NOD from receiving its own reinforcements.
Remember that tiberium is toxic to infantry units, so don't have your
infantry wander through tiberium patches when looking for NOD forces.
Instead, let your harvester draw them to your base. The harvester is
tough enough to withstand the slight amount of machine gun fire it will
encounter.
----------
GDI-02 (Secure the Region)
----------
Objective:
Destroy all SAM sites to allow for evacuation of civilians. Destroy all
NOD forces.
Strategy:
Watch the two transport ships get destroyed by SAM sites. They were heading
for the civilian town, so now you know the general direction in which it
lies.
Deploy the MCV where it stops, and then build your base. For some reason,
the radar installation is not available, but this is not really a problem
because your base will be small, and NOD will only attack from one location.
After building a war factory, construct some wolverines and go exploring.
It is easier to use wolverines instead of infantry because of all of the
tiberium near your base. Besides the two obvious SAM sites to the east of
your base, there is another to the north. Destroy them and then move your
wolverines south until they reach an east-west road. Follow it east until
you come to an isthmus connecting your island to the NOD island. All NOD
attacks will go through this isthmus, so you can stop them cold with a
few wolverines here.
Once you have enough wolverines to attack -- 10 should be enough -- move
across the isthmus and destroy the two SAM sites you come across. Then
heading north will bring you to the civilian town. West of the town is
the tiberium patch the NOD harvester uses, and you can take the opportunity
to destroy the harvester and deprive NOD of extra credits.
There are two more SAM sites north of the civilian town, and once you
destroy them, GDI will be able to rescue the ``significant'' civilian
population. That's right, all three people. Once the civilians are
saved, just march your wolverines directly into the NOD base and destroy
everything in sight.
----------
GDI-03 (Capture Train Station)
----------
Note:
This is the most western of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Capture the train station. Destroy all NOD structures.
Strategy:
Group all of your offensive forces together and go exploring. You will
find some random NOD forces around, but they should be easy to kill. In
the middle of the map, you will run into an attack cycle which will run
away to warn the NOD base. Don't worry about it; even with warning the
NOD base will not be difficult.
Head generally west and north. Be careful moving your infantry and
engineers around the patch of tiberium. Ignore the plateaus. There are
NOD units up there but no NOD structures.
Eventually you will find a bridge guarded by a cyborg. Kill the cyborg,
but do not cross the bridge yet. If you move west to the edge of the map,
you will receive two titans in reinforcements. They have enough range to
destroy the nearby NOD power stations, which will in turn overload and
destroy the NOD laser towers.
Now go back to the bridge and cross it. With your starting units and the
additional titans, destroying the NOD base and killing its few defenders
will be easy. Then send one of your engineers into the train station to
finish the mission.
----------
GDI-04 (Secure Crash Site)
----------
Objective:
Locate the crash site. Capture the NOD technology center.
Strategy:
You start out in the southwestern corner of the map. Move the MCV a little
to the south before deploying. This will give you more room for your
perimeter defense.
Your two wolverines and two titans will be enough to handle all initial
attacks, so build your base first and worry about putting up vulcan cannon
later. You should put the tiberium refinery on the eastern side of your
base, right next to the tiberium patch.
Most NOD attacks will come from the northeast. If you put your wolverines
and titan north of the tiberium patch, you will head off most of them
before they get to your base.
Once you have 4 or 5 wolverines and titans, head north. There is a small
NOD base near the center of the map. It is guarded by twin laser towers,
but titans have a longer range, so use them to destroy the lasers. Camp
your units there for a bit and train three engineers. Have the engineers
capture the two power stations and the hand of NOD, and then build another
war factory here. Now you have a rally point much closer to the action.
The crash site is through the southeastern gate of your new base. Once
you have destroyed the two tick tanks protecting the alien ship, you
will have secured the area.
Leave the crash area and head for the main NOD base. It is located over
the bridge just to the east of your second base. It will be guarded by
some tick tanks, attack cycles, and infantry, but they should be no match
for your titans and wolverines. The technology center is near the entrance
to the base. Just send in an engineer to finish the mission.
----------
GDI-05 (Defend Crash Site)
----------
Objective:
Defend the alien crash site.
Strategy:
The timer does not measure how long you have to defend the crash site
(although it is close); it measures how long the ion storm will last.
When the timer runs out, you will receive reinforcements in the form of
titans and wolverines.
Never move your troops out of your defended base. Near the start, NOD
rocket infantry will target a power plant and your radar installation.
There is nothing you can do about this. Just sell the buildings and use
the extra money to train more troops. Even with one power plant gone,
you will still have enough energy to run your base.
Most of the attacks will come from the north, so put the majority of your
troops there. Do not let any of your vulcan cannon get destroyed. If
necessary, move your troops outside slightly to distract and attack NOD
forces.
About a third of the way through the timer, NOD will sneak some units
into your base using subterranean APC's. One APC will go the western
side of the UFO and one will go to the eastern side. Have some troops
waiting around in those spots to welcome NOD to your base.
Train a couple of medics, and use waypoints so one can heal the infantry
at the northern entrance and the other can heal the infantry at the
southern entrance. With most of the remaining money -- leave some for
repairing your vulcan cannon -- train some more infantry. With the
number of troops you now have at your disposal, defending your base
should not be a problem.
----------
GDI-06 (Destroy Radar Array)
----------
Note:
This is the most western of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Destroy the three relay stations. Destroy the radar array.
Strategy:
Let the computer control your initial reinforcements. They will kill the
two NOD infantry on their own, and then be healed by the medic. The way
south leads to a dead end, so head east. Let your infantry units lead the
way since they can be healed.
Eventually, you will come to a patch of tiberium with fiends in it. Do
not attack the fiends unless you want the mission to end quickly. I
played this mission twice: both times NOD infantry attacked the fiends,
but only one time did the fiends attack NOD forces back. If the fiends
help, they'll destroy a couple of lasers for you. Otherwise, you'll
have to take out the lasers yourself.
NW relay station: There are submerged APC's with infantry surrounding
the relay station, so be prepared. Also, when you attack the station,
NOD will send several infantry and cyborgs at you, so watch for that
as well. Once the relay station is gone, you will get some reinforcements.
South relay station: There is nothing special about this station, except
that the entrance is ``guarded'' by a tiberium vein. Infantry can pass
unmolested, but titans will take damage. There is also a NOD base to the
east of this station, but you can ignore it. Destroying this station
results in reinforcements as well.
Radar array: South of the remaining relay station is a tunnel. Taking
the tunnel leads up to the radar array. There are some lasers, cyborgs,
and tick tanks guarding the area, but with all the firepower you should
have by this point destroying everything in sight should not be a problem.
NE relay station: After destroying the radar station, head east, destroy
a gate and some lasers, and then destroy the relay station. End of
mission.
----------
GDI-07 (Rescue Tratos)
----------
Objective:
Rescue Tratos. Destroy everything NOD.
Strategy:
You start out with Umagon, Ghoststalker, and a mutant hijacker. Try
to get a feel for these three, because you'll see them again often in
the missions ahead. Umagon can kill infantry with one shot, but doesn't
do much damage to anything else. Ghoststalker is lethal to infantry and
vehicles, and he can plant C4 charges in buildings, but you have to be
careful with him. His rail gun will kill anything between him and his
target, so try to keep his line-of-sight clear. I never find much use
for the hijacker. Umagon and Ghoststalker are all the firepower you
need.
At the start of the mission, move your units west, killing everything
you see. There is a big tiberium patch nearby, so you can heal your
units if they get hit. Eventually, you'll come to a NOD mini-base. It
has an observation tower out front. If any of your units wander into
its view, an alarm will go off, and you will have to rescue Tratos
within 4 minutes. Instead, sneak around the side of the base and notice
the power plant. There are crates around it, and if you shoot the crates,
they will explode and take out the power plant, too. Now the observation
tower has no power, and so you can destroy the min-base in any way you
want.
Continuing southwest, you will notice the prison camp. The corner closest
to you has crates around it, and so you can blow them up and create a
hole in the laser fencing. This will start the 4-minute timer, but Umagon
and Ghoststalker should be able to kill off anything that comes their
way, and still give Umagon enough time to walk to the hospital and free
Tratos.
Once Tratos is out of the hospital, a transport ship will arrive on the
far eastern side of the map. Also, one of the broken bridges you passed
earlier will become whole. To finish rescuing Tratos, walk him over to
the transport ship -- but not right away. As soon as he leaves, your
mutant units will leave as well. So just get Tratos out of harm's way
and then let Ghoststalker and Umagon pick apart the main NOD base. They
should be able to kill a few units and bring down some fencing and
lasers. When you get bored with them, send Tratos to the ship. They'll
leave and reinforcements will arrive, including an MCV. Soon after this,
NOD will sell off the prison camp, leaving only the main camp.
Move the MCV west so it is near two tiberium patches. You will receive
more reinforcements when you deploy the MCV and when you build a tiberium
refinery. This should give you a large force of wolverines and titans.
You can go ahead and start attacking the main NOD base at this point.
It will have several lasers and tick tanks for defense, plus assorted
infantry and cyborgs, but it will not withstand a pounding from titans
and wolverines for very long.
----------
GDI-08 (Destroy Vega's Dam)
----------
Note:
This the most western of the mission choices.
Objective:
Destroy Vega's dam.
Strategy:
There are two ways to meet the objectives. You can either destroy the
dams themselves, or you can destroy the regulator stations, which will
in turn destroy the dams. There are also two ways to get into the main
NOD base. This guide will be for the most interesting of the four possible
methods.
The NOD forces start out pretty smart. When they see you coming, they
blow up the bridge leading to one of their mini-bases. Do not fear,
though. By traveling south and then looping around back north, you can
arrive on the other side of the bridge and destroy the base. Your prize
for doing so will be a health crate and reinforcements.
Move generally southeast until you arrive at a land bridge. Reinforcements
will arrive, and to the north of the bridge will be a truck with another
health crate. Try to use the crates sparingly.
A little farther north is a city of sorts with three SAM sites and two
tick tanks. There will also be a flame tank in the area, so be ready to
scatter your infantry. When you destroy the tick tanks, you will receive
reinforcements. When you destroy the SAM sites, you will receive a single
engineer before the transport is shot down. Move the engineer west and
have him repair the bridge.
Move your troops north and have them cross the newly-repaired bridge.
Kill the NOD troops in the area, and then move your forces north to a
tunnel. The tunnel leads to the northeastern corner of the map -- and
the back door to the NOD base. Use your titans to destroy the lasers,
and use your wolverines and infantry to kill the enemy infantry. One
of the two regulator stations is on this side of the NOD base, and the
other is to the southwest across a bridge. Once the regulator stations
are gone, the NOD power plants will blow up, and then the dams will
blow up.
----------
GDI-09 (Destroy Vega's Base)
----------
Objective:
Capture Vega's pyramid and destroy the remainder of his base.
Strategy:
There are three islands on the map. The island you start on is in the
northeastern part of the map, Vega's main base is on an island to the
west, and a NOD mini-base is on an island to the south. Take the starting
units and explore your island. There are seven SAM sites you need to
destroy before you can receive reinforcements.
Once the SAM sites are gone, you will receive an MCV and two titans.
Deploy the MCV where it stops, and set up your base. Your titans and
infantry should be enough to hold off NOD for a while, but be wary of
APC attacks. Early in the mission NOD will send an APC with two engineers
right to your construction yard. Have some infantry units around to
make sure the engineers don't get anywhere. You might also want to pave
a lot of your base when you have the time. NOD will eventually send
flame tanks at you, and they like to pop up right next to your infantry.
You can safely ignore the game's suggestion to use amphibious APC units
to reach the other islands. There are bridges connecting the islands,
and neither bridge is particularly well defended. There is a danger with
the southern bridge, however. It is guarded by an artillery unit, and
simply sending wolverines and titans across the bridge will just get
the bridge destroyed. Luckily, the southern NOD base has no air defense
(other than rocket infantry) and so you can send some jump jet infantry
to destroy the artillery.
There is no trick to defeating the enemy bases. Just sending in titans
and wolverines to pound away will work. Once you have captured Vega's
pyramid and destroyed every NOD structure right down to the last piece
of laser fencing, the mission will be complete.
----------
GDI-10 (Capture Hammerfest Base)
----------
Objective:
Re-capture Hammerfest Base and then destroy all NOD forces.
Strategy:
Watch the hover tanks destroy a bridge and kill a couple of trucks. Each
truck has a crate, but don't open them yet. The hover tanks will have to
do a lot of work before arriving at Hammerfest Base, and they'll need the
extra healing.
Put the engineers in the APC, and move the APC close to the crates. Move
the hover tanks east until they meet a couple of attack cycles. Kill the
cycles and then continue east until you find a ramp leading north. Take
the ramp, move north, and then destroy a laser and radar installation.
To the northeast of this location is a plateau wall you can target. Shoot
the wall and then go up the ramp. You'll find three power plants you need
to destroy. Rocket infantry might wander by, but concentrate on the power
plants. If you need to, use one of the crates.
Now re-trace your steps, and move the hover tanks east along the southern
edge of the map. In the southeast corner is another truck you can kill
for a crate. Head north along the eastern side of the map until you find
an obelisk. Since you destroyed the power plants, the obelisk is powerless
to stop you, and so you can destroy it at your leisure.
Continue north until you pass under a bridge. There will be a landing and
a ramp to the north. Go there and discover a NOD mini-base. If you want
to take the time to destroy it, go ahead. There is another truck with a
crate as a prize. If you don't destroy it, NOD will simply sell it once
you re-capture Hammerfest.
Go north around the eastern part of the mini-base and get back over the
water. Move west along the northern edge of the map until you reach the
northwestern corner. Here is another plateau wall that you can shoot to
create a ramp. The ramp will give you access to Hammerfest Base. Move the
hover tanks up the ramp, and then move the APC until it is in the same
location as the tanks.
Move the hover tanks towards the base first. There are a couple of NOD
units that they need to take care so the engineers can move around safely.
Be careful with the tanks, though. They consider the base to be an enemy
base, and they will shoot at the gun emplacements.
Have the engineers capture the two power stations first. This will reduce
power enough that the firestorm walls will no longer be able to operate.
Move the third engineer into the barracks and create a couple light
infantry to help the hover tanks with NOD infantry. Then send the last
engineer into the construction yard, and the base will be yours.
Most of the buildings are damaged, and some are powered down, so get to
work repairing and powering up your structures. You will also come under
attack right away. Move your hover tanks east to protect the eastern
tiberium refinery. If it gets destroyed, don't worry. The remaining
refinery will be enough.
If you find that you are low on power, even after constructing extra
power turbines, feel free to sell the firestorm generator and the
firestorm wall pieces. There are also more than enough component towers,
and you can sell some of those.
Once you get your base in shape, the mission is pretty straightforward.
The NOD base is well defended with artillery, lasers, and SAM sites,
plus a multitude of infantry and tick tanks. Begin building a force of
wolverines and titans, and then clear your island of NOD forces and SAM
sites. Once you destroy all the SAM sites, you will get reinforcements
in the form of wolverines, titans, and hover tanks. From there just grind
away at the NOD base until you finish it.
----------
GDI-11 (Retrieve Disruptor Crystal)
----------
Objective:
Destroy the NOD train and retrieve the disruptor crystal.
Strategy:
This is a quick mission. Ignore the APC's and engineers, and take your
other troops west up a ramp. Then head south. You will be able to target
the wall of the plateau and create a ramp leading down towards the train
station. Somewhere around here you will likely encounter a stealth tank
or two plus a cyborg, so be prepared.
There are two lasers guarding the gate to the train station, but your
hover tanks and titan have better range, so they can take out the lasers
without being damaged. Use your other troops in support, attacking the
infantry which will sally forth from the station.
Once the lasers are gone, move forward and target the locomotive of the
train. Once that is destroyed, the rest of the train will be stuck and
you can proceed at a more careful pace if you need to. The crystal is
in the last car. Destroying the car will leave a crate behind, and
moving a unit onto the crate will finish the mission.
----------
GDI-12 (Rescue Prisoners)
----------
Note:
This is the most eastern of the mission choices.
Objective:
Locate the prison, and then free and evacuate all 10 prisoners.
Strategy:
Follow Umagon's suggestion and head north. Three buggies will quickly
find you, so try to have your infantry units in front to absorb the
damage. Turn towards the east and find a mutant building. Send Umagon
to the building, and Ghoststalker and a mutant hijacker will join you.
At regular intervals, NOD will send three cyborgs to hunt your group.
Always try to have Umagon or Ghoststalker take the damage while the
medic stands behind them. Use the other infantry units for support.
Traveling east along the northern edge of the map, you will eventually
run into a civilian city. In the southwestern corner of the city is a
building called the ``highrise hotel.'' The hotel is the structure
producing the cyborgs, so if you destroy it, you will not be hunted
any more. A ways east of the hotel is an artillery unit, so immediately
head back north and skirt along the edge of the map until you arrive
at the bridge leading to the prison compound.
There is only one laser guarding the gate to the prison, and the titans
can make short work of it. If you've lost the titans while fighting cyborgs,
then use Ghoststalker to blow the laser up, and then heal him with the
medic.
There are almost no defenses inside the prison, so once you get inside,
destroy the gate penning in the prisoners and watch them head north to
a landing field. Once you destroy the four SAM sites in the prison, a
transport will come to pick up the prisoners, and you will have finished
the mission.
----------
GDI-13 (Destroy Chemical Supply)
----------
Objective:
Start a base and destroy everything NOD.
Strategy:
You start in the southwest corner of the map. Start moving your troops
east. You will encounter some stealth tanks. I don't like disruptor tanks
very much, so I let them take the lead and also take the damage. Use the
hover tanks and mutants in support. Eventually you will arrive at a NOD
mini-base. It only has a single laser for defense, so destroy it quickly.
Keep moving east, and then take the ramp to the south. You can build your
base on the plateau. Get credits coming in quickly; NOD will use chemical
missiles in this mission, and they are a pain, so you want to stop them
as soon as possible. Don't worry too much about component towers; NOD
will usually target them with missiles, and they won't last.
Build up a small attack force of 4 wolverines and 4 titans, and move
them along with the mutants up the eastern side of the map. Leave the
hover tanks and the disruptor tanks behind for defense. NOD might try
to sneak in some engineers or flame tanks, and you need to be prepared.
When your attack force reaches a bend in the road, head west. It will
encounter a lightly guarded gate that shouldn't pose much of a problem.
Beyond that gate, however, is a second gate, and that gate has an obelisk
and artillery for defense. But it has no SAM sites, so train some jump
jet infantry and have them destroy as much of the gate's defenses as
possible. Then use your wolverines and titans to mop up. NOD's only two
missile silos are just beyond the gate, and once you destroy them, you
won't have to worry about missiles any more.
The main NOD base is to the southwest of the second gate. Reinforce your
original attack force with more wolverines and titans, and try to capture
a nearby enemy structure so you can create your own nearby barracks or
war factory. Skirt along the edge of the base, and you will come to its
power grid. Destroy the power plants, and the base's defending obelisk
will be shut down. From there you should have no problem finishing the
base.
There is also a bridge north of the NOD base. Sending any unit across
the bridge will reveal a train station. Ghoststalker will appear and
you will receive a new objective to get Ghoststalker aboard the train.
By this time there shouldn't be any NOD units around to stop him, so
simply walk him to the train and finish the mission.
----------
GDI-14 (Mine Power Grid)
----------
Objective:
Destroy the power plants.
Strategy:
This is a pretty easy mission -- after the first few minutes. Initially,
watch the train as it moves across the map, and then save when it stops.
You'll probably have to repeat the opening sequence a couple times, and
you don't want to have to watch the train each time you restart.
NOD forces will attack the train, but you will have seven mutants and
a medic to fight back with. Locate Umagon and have her target enemy
infantry. Locate Ghoststalker and move him west so he has a clear line
of sight for the tick tanks and approaching buggies. Locate the mutant
hijacker and have it take over a tick tank. Ignore the tick tanks along
the ridge to the south. they will destroy the train, but that's ok. You
don't need the train any more.
The enemy base has a guarded entrance, but there's no reason for you
to approach it. Instead, send your forces north up a ramp, and then move
them west. You will find a couple of NOD defenders which Umagon and
Ghoststalker should kill easily, and you will also find two power plants
which you should destroy.
Now head south so you are behind the NOD gate. There are four power
plants plus several NOD defenders, but they should be no match for your
forces. Destroy the power plants to finish the mission.
----------
GDI-15 (Destroy Chemical Missile Plant)
----------
Objective:
Destroy all NOD forces.
Strategy:
Move your troops east and set up your base east of the blue patch of
tiberium. Set up your base, but don't worry too much about exploring.
When the mutants disable part of NOD's power output, several obelisks
will go off-line, and then it will be safer to travel.
There will be chemical missile attacks again, and NOD won't send very
many attacks your way, so don't spend a lot of time or energy on component
towers. Get two or three harvesters going, and start producing titans,
wolverines, and jump jet infantry.
When the timer goes off, send an attack force east. It will hit a wall
of defenses with the powered down obelisks. To the east of the wall is
a plateau with artillery on it. Send the jump jet infantry to take care
of them, and then use the wolverines and titans to mop up. There is a
stealth generator here. Capture it and also capture the power plant on
the plateau, and then create an attack base complete with barracks and
war factory.
The main NOD base is hidden with several stealth generators. Use the
mobile sensor array so you can see what is going on. There will be a
variety of obelisks, lasers, and troops in the base, but you should be
able to whittle away at the defenses without problem.
There are several helipads with banshees in the southeast corner of the
map, but for whatever reason, NOD didn't use the banshees very much. A
single SAM tower is enough to defend your main base and your attack base.
The mission ends when every NOD unit and structure has been destroyed.
----------
GDI-16 (Destroy Prototype Facility)
----------
Note:
This is the most northern of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Destroy all NOD forces.
Strategy:
You start out in the southeast corner with your old friends Umagon,
Ghoststalker, and the mutant hijacker. There are also three other mutants,
but they aren't important. Send them to the northeastern corner and let
them explore while you concentrate on the other units. They won't run
into any NOD forces.
Move Umagon, Ghoststalker, and the hijacker in a generally northwestern
direction. You'll find a small NOD base. Inside the base is a subterranean
APC that the hijacker can steal. If you want it, use the western entrance
and send in Ghoststalker first to eliminate the defending infantry. The
cyborgs won't budge, so ignore them. Then send in the hijacker. He'll get
hit by a laser twice, but that's ok because he'll be spending the rest
of the mission inside the APC.
Leave the area of the base and head north. You should come across a pair
of banshees flying in circles. They'll ignore you, so feel free to ignore
them back. Head west along the northern edge of the map, and then shoot
the plateau wall in the northwest corner. Go up the ramp and then head
south. You'll end up behind the main NOD base, in view of the production
facility.
With the base in view, you'll receive reinforcements: and MCV, some hover
tanks, and a titan. Move the MCV north to the northeastern corner of the
map and deploy your base there. You will receive a Mammoth Mk. II at this
point. Send it north to help with the defense of your base. It is pretty
lethal with a gun similar to Ghoststalker's.
The small NOD base you saw before is just to the southwest of your base
location, and you can send in the hover tanks to finish it off. Nothing
there has any range, and so the hover tanks shouldn't even take a hit.
You can also steal the buildings, but that is probably more trouble than
it is worth.
Get your base going. There is a plateau wall to the west of your base
that you can shoot, but if you leave it alone, then all NOD attacks will
come from the south. Just line up Umagon, Ghoststalker, and the mammoth
south of your base, and nothing will get through. The only two things
you have to be worried about are subterranean attacks and artillery
attacks. So keep some other units around for those cases.
Once you have an attack force ready, head south to the southeastern
corner, and then head west. The NOD base is hidden by stealth generators,
so bring along a mobile sensor array. Probe the defenses to find an
obelisk, and then send in jump jet infantry to destroy it. Now you can
pummel the base with wolverines and titans. Save the stealth generator,
though, and use an engineer to capture it. You can create a small attack
base here, and use it as a rallying point.
>From this point on, the mission is pretty standard. You just need to
destroy all NOD forces, and you can do that pretty easily by pounding
away with wolverines and titans. If you have problems, note that the
NOD harvester uses the tiberium patch south of your attack base. Kill
it to take away NOD's credit supply, and then NOD will be at your mercy,
----------
GDI-17 (Weather the Storm)
----------
Objective:
Protect the Kodiak and destroy all NOD forces.
Strategy:
You are in an ion storm, and that means you can't use any flying units,
and it means the radar screen won't function. You will still need to
build a radar eventually, though, because you will need a mobile sensor
array before attacking the NOD base.
Group your infantry together and send them slightly south. Two tick tanks
will attack from that direction, and infantry are the most effective in
that situation. After the tanks are dead, move the infantry north to kill
two more tick tanks. The move your titans and wolverines to the ridge
north of your base. Two artillery units will soon appear, and your forces
can take them out quickly.
Meanwhile, start building your base. Deploy the MCV where it is, and then
build a power station and a refinery. The only safe tiberium patch for
the moment is in the northwest corner of the map, so send your harvester
there. Notice the rock next to the Kodiak. NOD has a pair of artillery
units on a plateau to the east, and their range extends to that rock. So
do not place any buildings east of that rock for the time being.
Build a barracks and a war factory, and then build another titan. Send
your three titans south to a tiberium patch. It will be guarded by two
cyborgs, an attack cycle, and an artillery unit. Once they are dead, it
will be safe to send a harvester to the patch.
Build another titan so you have four, and then send them east to kill
the two artillery on the plateau. Your base is now reasonably secure,
and NOD won't send any attacks for a while. Build another harvester,
set up some perimeter defenses, and then build titans and wolverines,
plus a mobile sensor array.
Once you have an attack force, send it east to the tiberium patch. The
NOD harvesters will use this patch, and you can pick them off easily.
Wait to make sure no more NOD harvesters come your way, and then move
your units north to the northern edge of the map. Head east for a bit
and then deploy the sensor array. NOD will have several power plants
along the northern ridge, but they, like the rest of the base, will be
hidden by stealth generators. Destroy all of the power plants except
for one, and then capture it. This will allow you to start up an attack
base.
Build another barracks and war factory, and then replenish your attack
force. NOD's construction yard is nearby, so target that first so it can't
rebuild anything. Also take out the remaining power plants so all of the
obelisks will be deactivated. Then just move south killing everything
in site.
----------
GDI-18 (Final Conflict)
----------
Objective:
Destroy the ICBM launchers before they can launch. Destroy Kane's pyramid.
Destroy all NOD forces.
Strategy:
Quickly kill the defending infantry, and then target the refinery. You
should be able to distract the NOD harvester long enough to destroy the
refinery and prevent NOD from getting at least one load of tiberium. Then
destroy the other buildings, using the newly-arrived titans and wolverines
in support.
Deploy the MCV inside the old NOD base, and start building up your own
base. A one-hour timer will start when you build your barracks, so delay
that for a bit and build a couple of power stations and your radar first.
Keep your buildings spread out. Eventually Kane will start shooting
missiles at you, and some shots can take out two buildings if they are
close together.
What you see on the radar is only half of the map. Once you destroy an
ICBM launcher or explore the southern edge of the map, the full map will
be revealed. There will be three NOD bases, each with its own separate
power grid and ICBM launcher. There will also be a special area just
for Kane.
North NOD base: This base is well-defended with artillery units and
obelisks. The easiest way to crack their defenses is to use the ion
cannon, so quickly build a tech center and an upgrade center so you
will have the option. Probe the base so the artillery units will reveal
themselves, and then hit them with the ion cannon. You can also use jump
set infantry to scout the bridge leading up to the base, and destroy the
two lasers guarding the northern shore. Once you've softened up their
defenses enough, a standard attack of titans and wolverines will do the
trick. The ICBM launcher is in the northeastern part of the base. There
is also an old GDI base west of the NOD base, and you can find three
mammoth (mark 1) tanks there.
South NOD base: The easiest way to attack this base is via water. Send
some hover tanks and an APC with infantry and at least one engineer south
along the river. You'll find a bunch of power plants along the shore near
the bottom of the map. Capture one of the power plants and then build a
barracks nearby. Pump out some light infantry to assist the hover tanks,
and destroy all of the power plants. You might also want to put up some
vulcan cannon to ensure you keep your foothold. The ICBM launcher is just
to the west of the power plants, but don't destroy it until time is
winding down. The construction yard, temple of NOD, and war factory are
also near the ICBM launcher, and by destroying all three, you can
effectively cripple the base. Mopping it up after that should present
no problems.
Middle/island NOD base: This is a small base guarded by an obelisk.
Simply charge it with several hover tanks and destroy everything in
sight. The base is cloaked by a stealth generator, so you might have
to target the ground a few times in order to find the power plants.
The ICBM launcher is right in the middle of the base, surrounded by
some concrete.
Kane's island: Kane's island is on the eastern side of the map. You
passed it if you used the river to enter the southern base. There are
only a couple of lasers guarding the bridge leading to the island, so
you shouldn't have much of a problem. Once you destroy the pyramid,
you won't have to worry about missile attacks any more.
*****************************************************************************
* NOD CAMPAIGN *
*****************************************************************************
----------
NOD-01 (The Messiah Returns)
----------
Objective:
Build a refinery and destroy all of Hassan's troops.
Strategy:
Watch the super buggy kill two infantry at once, and then get to work
with your base. You need to build a refinery, and you need to train a
lot of infantry.
There is an unguarded entrance to your base to the north, and it leads
to a patch of tiberium. Put some troops there to keep it safe. The
entrance to the east has two lasers guarding it. That's all the defense
it needs.
Since you're fighting NOD troops in this mission, be wary of subterranean
APC attacks. Hassan will send three at you: one near the north entrance
of the base, one inside the base to the east, and one inside the base to
the west. Each attack will only have three light infantry units in it,
so they should be easy to to defeat.
Gather an attack force of ten infantry or so, and start exploring the
map. Most of Hassan's troops will attack your base and get killed that
way, but there are also two buggies that must be located and destroyed.
----------
NOD-02 (Retaliation)
----------
Objective:
Capture the TV station and destroy Hassan's forces.
Strategy:
There is a tiberium patch just to the east of your starting location, so
go ahead and deploy the MCV where it stops. You'll immediately come under
attack from an attack buggy and two light infantry units, but you should
be able to dispatch them with your starting units.
Set up your base and deploy a couple lasers for defense. You can skip
the war factory and go completely with light infantry and rocket infantry
in this mission. Build up some troops, and when you have a reasonable
attack force, head towards the TV station. You'll come across an enemy
base along the way.
The enemy base is guarded by two lasers and a handful of infantry. Just
overwhelm them and destroy everything sight. When the base is gone, Hassan's
forces will blow up a bridge to the north. I have no idea why; there isn't
anything beyond it, but feel free to fix it with an engineer just to see
what it's like.
When you send an engineer into the TV station, Hassan's main base on the
map will be revealed. Hassan will also receive reinforcements, but some
of them -- including all of the cyborgs -- will convert to your cause
because of the TV broadcast. They'll easily dispatch the reinforcements
who didn't convert.
Take your remaining troops and head for Hassan's main base. If most of
them are injured, there is a truck with a health crate in the civilian
city north of your base, and you can heal them with that. Hassan's base
is almost defenseless, so you shouldn't have a problem -- and you don't
even have to attack it if you don't want to. Simply destroying the bridge
leading to his base will end the mission as well.
----------
NOD-03 (Free Rebel Commander)
----------
Note:
This is the most western of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Locate and free the rebel commander.
Strategy:
The prison base is a little too well defended for a frontal assault, so
explore to the south. You'll find three enemy light infantry and a GDI
soldier attacking each other. Kill the infantry while the GDI guy escapes
in an orca bomber. He'll destroy a tick tank for you on his way out.
Anyway, behind the soldiers is a tunnel leading to another enemy base.
This one only has a few light infantry guarding it. Kill them, and in the
process you will learn that you have troops in the two trucks parked
nearby. The troops consist of some light infantry and some engineers.
Capture the refinery when the harvester in unloading, and you'll take
control of the harvester as well. Use the other engineers to capture the
hand of NOD, a power plant, and the tiberium silo. You now have all the
structures you need and an endless stream of credits.
Assemble a strike force, and then attack the prison camp. The commander
is in an enclosed area on the eastern side. Once he is free, just have
him board the waiting transport craft to finish the mission.
----------
NOD-04 (Destroy Hassan's Temple)
----------
Objective:
Locate and destroy Hassan's temple.
Strategy:
Kill then enemy infantry, cross the bridge, and then kill some more
infantry. You'll receive many reinforcements including an MCV and some
engineers. Capture what you want and start building your base.
Hassan's troops blew up the bridge on the eastern side of your base,
and so all attacks will come from the west. Put a couple lasers and
some rocket infantry there for defense.
Your first target should be the small enemy base to the west. It only
has a laser, a tick tank, and some infantry for defense. Your starting
troops should be more than enough to destroy or capture what you want.
If you decide to capture the refinery, make sure the harvester is inside
so you get that as well.
Now you can concentrate on the main enemy base. Assemble an assault force,
fix the bridge, and then head east. Capture the hand of NOD here so your
troops will have less distance to travel, and also capture the refinery
if you need more credits. The area is lightly defended, and you can destroy
several power plants and the construction yard if you want.
Moving west from the construction yard you'll finally find Hassan's temple.
There are a few lasers here for defense, but by now Hassan isn't receiving
any credits, and you can just pound on him until you break through. When
you've destroyed the temple, Hassan will try to sneak out the back door,
but you'll receive some reinforcements to shoot him down. Hassan will
survive the crash long enough to be executed. Lucky him. (Note: if you
capture the temple rather than destroying it, you'll still win the mission,
but you won't get to see Hassan shot down.)
----------
NOD-05 (Blackout)
----------
Note:
This is the most southern of the mission choices.
Objective:
Locate and destroy the GDI radar facility before the ion storm ends.
Strategy:
After killing the two hover tanks, move your forces west. Deploy your MCV
so that the refinery can be placed down southeast from the bridge. There
are three entrances to your base -- east, west, and north via the bridge
-- and you have to keep them all well defended. GDI will make every effort
to sneak in engineers using APC's, and if they get inside it's almost
impossible to keep them from capturing at least one building. But sprinkle
some infantry and lasers around inside your base to try and stop them.
Even with the 1:30 timer, you have plenty of time to finish the mission.
Spend the first half hour getting your base in shape, and get at least
two harvesters going. Then assemble an attack force and head west. Send
a lone, unimportant unit in front because in two places along the way
there will be meteor showers, and your units might take damage.
After turning north, you'll find the tiberium patch that GDI uses. Go
ahead and kill the harvester if you want, or try to capture it later
with the refinery. East of the patch is a GDI base, which you might
have already seen if you explored on the bridge. Approaching the base
from the west is easier because you can attack the vulcan cannon one
at a time.
After destroying the defenses, capture the barracks so you can train a
medic to heal your infantry, and capture the repair depot so you can
repair your vehicles. Also take the time to increase your attack force.
The main GDI base is well defended.
When you have your attack force ready, head across the next bridge.
You'll immediately see the main GDI base. It has two vulcan cannon and
an rpg launcher, plus random titans and infantry, for defense. Try to do
as much damage as possible, and also try to sneak in a couple engineers
to capture the barracks and war factory, which are right next to the
entrance.
Keep pummeling away, but if you have trouble breaking the defense or if
you're running out of time, head straight for the radar facility. It is
directly north of the entrance. Destroying it will end the mission.
----------
NOD-06 (Eviction Notice)
----------
Objective:
Locate the Temple of NOD and destroy all GDI forces.
Strategy:
The map is divided into two halves, separated by water and connected by
a choke point. Your half is the southern half. The GDI base, a civilian
city, and the old NOD base all share the northern half.
Set up your base and explore your half of the map. Your position is a
little hard to protect because the main tiberium patch fills one entrance
to your base. But put lasers in strategic spots, and don't worry about
defense too much. Attacks will be infrequent, and GDI will only send
solitary engineers at you rather than using the APC trick from the last
mission.
There are two things of interest in your half of the map. One is a train
blocked by a truck, located along the western edge. If you destroy the
truck, the train will roll down the tracks and run into a vulcan cannon,
destroying it. The other thing is a series of GDI transports that start
in your half of the map and then travel north to the civilian city to
evacuate the citizens. This is just for show, I think. Destroying the
transports doesn't do anything.
The GDI base is located in the middle of the northern half of the map,
directly north of the choke point. It only has two vulcan cannon for
defense, but it has a lot of money, so it will continually train infantry
and build titans when you attack. Thus, it is important to bring some
engineers with you when you attack. Once the war factory and barracks
are destroyed or captured, the mission is just about over. Just mop up
the base, and send a unit to the northwestern corner where the Temple
of NOD is located.
Note: for a change of pace, you can try finishing the mission in this way
instead. Immediately send all of your units to the civilian city, and
destroy some buildings there to make room for your base. Only build a
hand of NOD, a radar installation, and a refinery, and then pump out
infantry and engineers. The GDI base is completely defenseless if you
approach from the east, and you can easily steal several buildings before
GDI even knows what hit them. I tried this strategy when I wanted to get
to the civilian city early to try and destroy the transports, and I was
surprised that it only took about 20 minutes to solve the mission this
way.
----------
GDI-07 (Salvage Operation)
----------
Objective:
Locate the UFO and retrieve the Tacitus.
Strategy:
This is an odd mission in that it is difficult to do the things you are
supposed to do and still win. It is much easier to ``cheat'' and skip a
few steps. I'll describe both ways.
The right way: kill off the enemy infantry at your starting position and
then head north to the northwestern corner. There you'll find a radar
installation and a power station. Defeat the enemy infantry guarding the
spot, and capture both buildings. The radar will show you the location
of the GDI base and the UFO. Notice the truck next to the UFO. It contains
cargo from the UFO, and you will need to capture that cargo. Sell off the
power station and radar installation for more infantry, and then make for
the UFO.
Head south back the way you came until you hit the railroad tracks. Follow
the southern tracks east until you hit a dead end and then move north and
follow the other tracks. By doing this you'll avoid a titan, but you still
might run into an infantry patrol. You'll next run into two wolverines
which you can kill, and then you should head east. A train station will
be highlighted, and you'll see that the truck has made its way to Vega's
train and is unloading the cargo. Ignore it for the moment and send the
remaining engineer into the UFO. GDI might have received a MCV by this
point, and, if so, there might be a base and a couple of titans nearby.
You'll probably have to kill one of the titans to clear the way for the
engineer.
The engineer will learn that the Tacitus is gone, and so you'll have to
stop Vega's train. Don't follow the train tracks; that won't give you
enough time. Instead head south and a little west until you see the broken
bridge where the southern train tracks ended before. Southwest of that
is the back door into Vega's base, and you can move your troops inside
and kill the train. It will leave behind a crate which you should pick
up to finish the mission.
Quick method: at the start, when you see the train, have the two buggies
and the cycle attack it. They won't kill it, but they'll follow it. The
train stops in three places: once to load the cargo, once before entering
Vega's base, and once inside the base. Most of the time the vehicles will
destroy the engine at the second stop, but if not they can finish it off
inside the base. There's no need to send the engineer to the UFO.
----------
NOD-08A (Capture Umagon)
----------
Note:
This is the most northern of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Find and destroy the sensor towers without being detected. Capture Umagon.
Strategy:
Immediately deploy your artillery so they can help kill the wolverines.
Then move the artillery to the edge of the bridge and deploy them again.
Move an infantry unit north to scout around. There is a titan and two
wolverines to the north, and the artillery can take them out once they
can see them.
Start your base north of the bridge. Once the initial combat is done,
there will be no GDI attacks on your base -- they're not supposed to
know you're there after all -- and so don't worry about defense. When
you build your refinery, make sure the the harvester goes to the tiberium
patch to the south. The northern one is a little too close to a sensor
tower.
Build a bunch of infantry units, concentrating mostly on rocket infantry.
Your two artillery units will kill enemy infantry very easy, and so the only
support they'll need is for wolverines and titans. Then move your troops west
up the ramp, and then towards the sensor tower to the north. Edge your
artillery towards it until they take it out, and then move all of your
troops east and repeat the process. If the artillery starts attacking
enemy harvesters, let them or move on, your choice. You have plenty of
time to finish the mission.
Once the second sensor tower is down, edge towards the third one and
destroy it as well. Now you can bombard the enemy base in the southeast
corner. By this time Umagon is probably down there waiting for her train
to arrive, but she's not going to make it. Once your troops move in on
the base, Umagon will move in to assist in the defense, and the first
shot that hits her will ``capture'' her and complete the mission.
----------
NOD-08B (Capture Umagon)
----------
Note:
This is the most southern of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Capture the train station. Failing that, destroy the train to ensure that
Umagon does not leave the area.
Strategy:
You start in the southeastern corner of the map. There are five tiberium
veins near you, so build two refineries and at least three harvesters.
There are two entrances to your base area: to the north over a broken
bridge, and to the west over a non-broken bridge. Even after you fix the
bridge to the north, all attacks will come from the west, so put three
lasers and your artillery unit there.
Once you've got your base going, build an attack force of infantry units.
Include an engineer with them, and send them north over the bridge and
then west around the tiberium patch. They'll run into a lightly defended
barracks and power station. Capture the barracks, and make that your
primary infantry producer. Also train a medic or two to heal your
wounded.
Keep moving west along the northern edge of the map. Eventually you'll
see another barracks. This one has more defenses, including a vulcan
cannon and some nearby titans. Simply swarm it and capture the barracks.
There is a war factor nearby, and you can capture that, too, if you want.
The train station is south of the barracks, and you just need to send an
engineer into it to win the mission.
----------
NOD-09 (Sheep's Clothing)
----------
Objective:
Destroy the mutant base.
Strategy:
Start training an engineer right away so you can more quickly capture
the construction yard. Also, sell off the walls surrounding the tiberium
veins so the patch will expand in size. You can have at least two
harvesters working and still never run out of tiberium. Then expand your
base so it extends beyond the shallow area you are in. That way your
base only has one entrance rather than two, and it is easier to defend.
The map is basically divided into two halves. Your base and a small
mutant base occupy the southern half, and the main mutant base occupies
the northern half. The small mutant base has no air defense, so this is
a good time to use orca fighters. As soon as you attack the base, the
mutants will release three fiends, but vulcan cannon with orca fighter
support can kill them pretty easily. Be careful if you attack the small
mutant base by land; their gun turrets look a lot like observation booths,
and you can get a lot of infantry killed if you don't notice right away.
The main mutant base has air defenses, and they also have an obelisk and
air support. You don't have any ground to air support available in this
mission, but the landing pads are close enough to the entrance of the
base that you can take them out so the fighters only get one round of
attacks.
Other than the obelisk, the main mutant base isn't very well defended.
Just send ten or so titans against it, and you should have no problem.
Tratos is in a building next to a gun turret on the eastern side of the
base. If you destroy his building, he will emerge and surrender the
base, ending the mission.
----------
NOD-10 (Escort Bio-toxin Trucks)
----------
Note:
This is the most northern of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Locate the bio-toxin trucks and escort them to safety.
Strategy:
The cyborg commando is pretty powerful, and he can probably kill all of the
GDI forces on the map by himself. So just about any path you take will
allow you to finish the mission successfully. This is just one way.
Follow the mutant guide east. He's under computer control, and he'll
remain that way for the remainder of the mission. He'll probably also
get killed because he runs right into a GDI patrol.
Mop up the patrol with your units, and then have an engineer fix the
bridge. Be careful crossing the bridge because there are a titan and
hover tank in the area, and the bridge is fragile. One hit will break
it and send whatever units you have on it down the river.
After killing the titan and hover tank, move north along the coast.
You'll come to a ramp leading north. Sending a unit up the ramp will
trigger a meteor shower, so use one of your engineers.
Beyond the ramp to the north is the base with the bio-toxin trucks. The
buildings are damaged, but you can use an engineer to fix one, or sell
the gate and use the resulting credits to repair the buildings normally.
There is a hospital in the base, and the cyborg commander can use it to
be restored to full health.
The checkpoint area where you need to send the trucks will also be
revealed. It is east of the base, beyond a small GDI outpost. The
outpost is guarded by a vulcan cannon and a titan, plus a few infantry
units. The cyborg commando has better range than the cannon, so
dispatching that should be no problem, and the commando and your
remaining units should be able to kill the titan quickly. Now just
send the trucks to the checkpoint to finish the mission.
----------
NOD-11 (Destroy GDI Research Facility)
----------
Objective:
Rally the mutants, secure the tunnel, and then locate and destroy the
research facility.
Strategy:
Send your spy north to a cargo truck. Next to it will be a wounded GDI
infantry unit, which the spy can kill easily. The mutants will appear
and start following the spy.
Move west and kill whatever GDI patrols you run into. Eventually you'll
come to the western end of the tunnel. Head into the tunnel and kill the
titan on the other side. When it is dead the tunnel will be secure and
you'll receive an MCV and some other reinforcements.
The mutants will begin to do their own thing -- which basically amounts
to them throwing themselves into the GDI defenses and getting killed.
Move your units up to the plateau over the tunnel where a tiberium waste
facility and two power plants are located. Capture the waste facility
and the two cargo trucks from the last mission will arrive, and you will
be able to shoot off one missile. But don't shoot it right away. Attacking
GDI only encourages them to attack back, and you don't want that yet.
Start up your base. Put one refinery near the tiberium patch to the east,
and then extend your base towards the patch to the southwest and put
another one there. This is the first mission where you get to build
artillery units so defense shouldn't be a worry. Four artillery units
can kill most attacks before they even get to your base.
The plateau your base is on extends to the northeast, close to a small
GDI base. Build three artillery units and support them with some rocket
infantry, and then move them along the plateau as close to the base as
possible. Bombard the base to take out its defenses, and then send in
the engineers to capture what you want.
The main GDI base is north of this small base. There is a bridge connecting
the two, but as soon as you send a unit across, GDI will blow the bridge
up. So send a light infantry unit across, and then send an engineer
through the tiberium patch to the east, up the ramp, and then over to
the bridge to fix it. There is a guarding vulcan cannon, but your artillery
can make short work of it.
Now it is just a matter of pummeling the GDI base. With artillery and
lots of credits rolling in, defeating the base shouldn't be a problem.
The research facility is to the north, and destroying it will end the
mission.
----------
NOD-12 (Rescue the Villainess)
----------
Objective:
Rescue and evacuate Oxanna.
Strategy:
Watch the prison break. When it is concluded, you'll have control of a
cyborg commando, Slavik, a subterranean APC, two engineers, and some
support units. Bring all your units to the prison area, and then kill
the two titans that approach. You can also be clever and draw the titans
south and then sink them as they try to cross the ice.
With the titans gone, use the commando to take out the two vulcan cannon,
and use the engineers to capture a power station and the radar installation.
You'll be shown Oxanna's prison location. Put Slavik and the commando
into the APC and send the APC to the north of Oxanna's prison. The
commando can easily kill the guarding infantry and vulcan cannon.
At this point the transport will arrive. You don't need to capture it
with engineers; all you have to do is put Slavik and Oxanna aboard. To
that end, load them and the commando into the APC and send it to the
transport. Have the commando kill the defending infantry, titan, and
vulcan cannon, and then put everybody aboard the transport.
If you like playing with the commando, you can also use the slow method
and ignore the APC. Just walk the commando and your support troops where
ever you need to go, and blow up everything you come across. Whee!
----------
NOD-13A (Protect Waste Convoys)
----------
Note:
This is the most northern of the mission choices.
Objective:
Build a tiberium waste facility. Destroy all GDI structures.
Strategy:
You start in a fairly nice spot. There are only two entrance to your
base -- north, where most attacks will come from, and west -- so
concentrate most of your defenses to the north. A couple artillery
coupled with your starting units will work for a while, but eventually
you'll want to have some lasers and an obelisk as well.
Get a couple of harvesters going, and get those credits coming in. You
don't have to get to the waste facility right away. There is a road that
travels from the northwestern corner of the map to your location in the
southeastern corner, and weed eaters will have to traverse that in order
to deliver tiberium to the facility. GDI has forces all along the road,
so building the waste facility early will just get some weed eaters
killed.
Build some mechanical troops, and send them west over the tiberium patch.
There is a civilian town in the southwestern corner of the map, and north
of the town is a GDI barracks. Capture the barracks and set up your own
attack base. Then start clearing the road. GDI will have some jump jet
infantry around so make sure you have some rocket infantry of your own.
Otherwise, just pummel them.
Now you can build the waste facility, but it won't matter much. By the
time enough weed eaters arrive to form a single missile, you will
probably have finished off the main GDI base, which is located north
of the road.
You don't need to do anything special to attack the main GDI base. Just
send an attack force with some rocket infantry, and back them up with a
couple of artillery. Capture a building once you break through, and then
pick them apart. Once all of the buildings are destroyed, the mission
will be over.
----------
NOD-13B (Establish NOD Presence)
----------
Note:
This is the most southern of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Locate and secure the old NOD base. Destroy all GDI forces.
Strategy:
Follow the road to the northeast. Along the way you'll encounter a titan
and an infantry soldier, which should be easy to defeat, and a mutant
attack, which is more complicated. The mutants will ambush you in a
civilian city, and they will have a hijacker at their side. If you're
not careful, you can lose a vehicle or two.
Keep heading northeast, and you'll eventually hit the NOD base. Repair
the damaged buildings, and either put up a wall or use pavement to box
in the tiberium vein. Otherwise it will spread and destroy your
buildings.
GDI won't waste a lot of time before they attack, so try to get some
artillery going as quickly as possible. The tiberium vein to the south
will stop several titan attacks, but GDI will also send disrupter tanks
from the east, and artillery is good at killing these slow-moving targets.
When you're ready to attack, head west. Near the northwest corner is a
barracks and three power stations. There are also a couple vulcan cannon,
and you can either take those out with artillery or chemical missiles.
Capture all the buildings and camp some artillery there.
Not far away to the south GDI has another small outpost, but this one
has a refinery. Capture the refinery while a harvester is unloading and
you'll probably have more than enough credits coming in. GDI has some
jump jet infantry in the area, so make sure your attack force has some
rocket infantry to shoot them down.
Make some more artillery units and deploy them on the plateau south of
the second GDI base. The main base is just south of the plateau and you
can bombard it with your artillery. Send in some infantry to scout the
area, and then fire away. The base shouldn't last long, and you can
capture yet another refinery if you want, and also a war factory. Heal
your attack force, add some titans to it, and then explore the rest of
the area to make sure you killed everything.
The last GDI base is in the southeastern corner. This is where GDI keeps
its orca helicopters. It has both fighters and bombers, so have your
troops go right for the helipads to take them out. Otherwise the bombers
can take out your rocket infantry very quickly. Once this base is gone,
the mission will end.
----------
NOD-14 (Destroy Mammoth Mk. II Prototype)
----------
Objective:
Spy on a communications center. Destroy the Mammoth Mk. II prototype.
Strategy:
Your spy has a good range of vision, and he is invisible to enemy troops,
so use him to scout around for a while. There are a few communications
(aka upgrade) centers on the map, but don't be in a hurry to infiltrate
any of them. Expose large portions of the map instead, and then enter a
communications center when you've seen enough.
At this point you'll see a demonstration of the Mammoth Mark. II prototype.
It looks mean, but it can't stand up to concentrated fire. Next you'll
receive an MCV, three attack cycles, and three tick tanks. Send them
north to the communications center along the western side of the map.
Deploy your MCV so you can put a refinery right next to the two tiberium
fields.
You'll come under attack right away from GDI patrols, but your starting
units should be able to take care of them. Get a barracks up as soon as
possible so you can train some infantry to help out against the enemy
infantry. Then set up your defenses in a normal way: some lasers, a few
artillery units, and perhaps an obelisk if you want one. At some point
an MM2 might attack your base, but don't get excited. The mission won't
end when you kill it. GDI is just cheating a little.
Now build four banshees and four helipads. There is a church in the
northwest corner that has a money crate under it, and that can help
pay for the expenses. Look back at the demonstration site and notice
the SAM turret. Have your banshees take that out. They'll get damaged,
but none should get killed. If you don't have a repair vehicle, build
one to keep your banshees healthy.
The first banshee attack will expose another SAM turret, so have the
banshees take that out next. This second attack will expose the MM2,
and you will only need one last attack in order to take that out. When
it blows up, the mission will be over.
----------
NOD-15 (Capture Jake McNeil)
----------
Objective:
Persuade Jake to join the Brotherhood.
Strategy:
Ah, subterfuge. You will have three APC's, two filled with engineers,
and one holding a single rocket infantry unit. Load the toxin soldiers
into the latter APC and head west, staying as far south as possible.
You'll come to a ramp leading south and you should take it. You'll come
to an observation tower, but you can pass it safely to the south. Finally,
you'll pass a civilian building called ``WS Logging Company'' and enter a
cul-de-sac.
Unload the toxin soldiers and rocket infantry. One of the plateau walls
can be shot to form a ramp -- but only by the rocket infantry. Once the
ramp is there, go up it and enter the GDI base from behind.
Move the toxin soldiers in first to kill the enemy infantry, and then
send in the engineers to steal all of the buildings. When you capture
the construction yard, the guns will stop functioning. If you lose one
of your engineers, don't worry; you have one extra. Do no destroy any
of the gun turrets or buildings, or else McNeil will notice the trap.
However, you can train some disc throwers. You will have to kill two
wolverines eventually, and the extra support will come in handy.
Now wait for McNeil to show up. If you've done everything correctly, he
will enter the base. At that point, it is safe to attack. Even if McNeil
discovers the trap, he will run south and towards your starting position.
Either shoot him right away, or chase him down and then shoot him. Then
send him to the starting position and put him in the subterranean APC.
If McNeil discovers the trap before entering the base, you will have more
work to do. He will run to the northeastern corner of the map to wait for
a transport. You will have 30 minutes to get a toxin soldier over there
to shoot him. Sell off all of the buildings you captured, and train as
many troops as possible. With the resulting horde of infantry, you should
be able to fight your way to McNeil and shoot him. Once McNeil has been
persuaded, I'm pretty sure he is always indestructible, so at that point
you will have essentially won the mission.
----------
NOD-16 (Illegal Data Transfer)
----------
Note:
This is the most southern of the two mission choices.
Objective:
Infiltrate the three communications centers to steal the ion cannon codes.
Then evacuate the spy.
Strategy:
The front door is never a good idea, so scoot around to the west and
head north. You'll encounter a GDI patrol along the way, but your forces
should have no problem with it. Continue north and you should find a
mobile sensor array. Destroy it so your spy stays hidden.
North of this location is a plateau wall that you can shoot, so do so.
Send the spy alone up the ramp, and then hug the northern edge of the
map while heading east. You'll find a communications center and be able
to steal the first code.
Move the spy back to the other troops, and notice that the plateau wall
to the southeast can also be shot. Doing so reveals an entrance to yet
another communications center. Send the spy in to get the second code.
Also send you other troops down the ramp, and have them kill the infantry
unit blocking the way. Send your spy east, have him skirt around two
sentries, and then find the road leading east. The road leads to the
third communications center, but a wolverine patrols the road. Move the
spy east but have him stay as far north of the road as possible. He
should be able to get into the communications center unseen and steal
the last code.
At this point a transport will arrive almost directly south of your
current position. Skirt around the wolverine again and get into the
transport. Mission complete.
----------
NOD-17 (A New Beginning)
----------
Objective:
Deploy the three ICBM launchers before the Philadelphia can make three
passes.
Strategy:
Watch Jake run into the base and turn off the firestorm walls. Then kill
off the defending GDI forces and get to work setting up your base. Capture
the firestorm generator (but sell it) and the four power stations, but
wait on the refinery. GDI will shoot the refinery with the ion cannon
and then repair it, and you can save credits by capturing it afterwards.
You should also construct a refinery of your own, and place it close to
the tiberium patch to the west.
There are no convenient land masses to control access to your base, so
you'll need to spread your defenses around. Place lasers around the
perimeter and keep a few artillery inside. Once GDI attacks a couple
times and you have an idea about where they'll attack each time, place
obelisks there. For the most part GDI attacks will consist of at most
three or four heavy vehicles, and your artillery might be able to wipe
them out before they even get to your base, but it's better to be safe
than sorry. GDI will also send some jump jet infantry on occasion, but
two or three SAM sites are enough for them.
When you build your radar installation, the three launch sites will be
highlighted on the radar view. Soon after that, a timer will start, but
don't be misled; you get a new timer for each pass of the Philadelphia,
so you really have three hours to finish the mission and not one hour.
You can actually finish the mission in one hour if you want, but it's
more fun to pound on the GDI bases a little first.
Only one of the launch sites is defended: the one in the northwestern
corner. You'll need to destroy a couple vulcan cannon and kill some
titans first, but otherwise you can pretty much walk the three missile
trucks to their destinations. But don't deploy the trucks until you're
ready to finish the mission. Deploying them early will just put them
in danger.
Explore the map around your base so your artillery can target advancing
GDI forces more quickly. To the east is a civilian town with a church.
Under the church is a money crate. Also send some infantry on suicide
missions to the north so you can find the GDI bases -- and expose gun
turrets so you have something to aim the ion cannon at. GDI won't replace
any killed turrets except at the base south of the eastern launch site.
Once your base is defended and you've done some exploring, start building
an attack force. Build a temple of NOD so you can train a cyborg commando
and support him with several infantry and some artillery. Then send them
east to the eastern edge of the map. Sending them north at that point
will lead them eventually into a GDI base. This is GDI's ``expansion''
base, so what is there depends on how long it takes you to assemble your
attack force.
But it doesn't matter, really. With the artillery killing off vulcan
cannon and rpg launchers, and the commando and infantry killing enemy
defenders, you should be able to destroy or capture the base quickly.
Capturing the refinery is a good idea, although your artillery will
probably kill the harvester and prevent you from getting that as well.
You can now move your attack force to the eastern launch site. Deploy
the artillery and leave the infantry. That site is now safe enough so
that you can send a missile truck there if you want. GDI doesn't seem
to take any special interest in the launch sites; they always go straight
for your main base unless something gets in their way.
Depending on how much time you have left, you can either assault the
remaining GDI base directly, or just destroy enough of it to clear a
path to the northwestern launch site. I'll assume the latter.
Create a new attack force and send it west to the western edge of the
map, and then send it north. Near the northern edge of the map it will
come to a bridge leading to the GDI base. You might want to create an
MCV and deploy it at this location so there is less distance for new
troops to travel.
The first targets should be two vulcan cannon guarding the gate into the
base. They are too far away for artillery to hit from your side of the
bridge, so you will have to attack them directly using the method of
your choice. The ion cannon is a good choice for this since it will
also destroy part of the firestorm walls behind them. Then you just
need to sneak some infantry in to kill the two guarding titans and the
rpg launcher. The way is now clear for the missile truck. Deploying one
in the northwestern site and the last one at the site just north of your
base will end the mission. Kaboom.
-----
Copyright (c) 1999 Steven W. Carter